Reagan: Hate to admit it, because it ain't manly, but when Reagan departed, and I heard his final "God Bless America," my eyes got misty. No one built us up like he did. I remember him at the hangar at Ft Campbell after the Gander Newfoundland air crash when we lost 260+ troops returning from the Sinai mission. He walked down that row of bereaved families and was a Leader to them, and a FATHER to them.
Bush1: I worried about GHWBush at first, mostly because of his voodoo economics attacks on Pres. Reagan. But he was committed to a strong military. I didn't handle the decision to downsize after the fall of the Iron Curtain too well. I thought it was a bit to quick. But when the Desert Storm deal happened, Bush1 earned my respect for ONE OVERRIDING reason....He let his war experts fight his war. He gave guidance and then let the military execute. It was a great show. I was totally surprised by the fickle public's rejection of him just shortly after that great victory. He deserved better.
Clinton: Didn't inhale. Despised the military. Campaigned for Ho Chi Mihn from Moscow. Gays in the military. Social engineering in the military so that "inclusive feelings" became more important than training rounds downrange. The cuts became so bad that we didn't have enough people to do the job, and those we did have were gone all the time to Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo. He tucked tail and ran from Somalia effectively telling the families of the dead that those loved ones' lives were lost on a merely whimsical policy, that nothing important was really happening in Somalia worth of the death of anyone. Sold out to China the secrets that will mean a new nuclear race. He let terrorists kill, kill, and kill again and sicced the FBI on them, as if nation-states would allow a policeman to arrest someone in a country not their own. He burned out the force and caused innumerable GREAT YOUNG SOLDIERS to leave because they were overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated. The worst military president in the history of the republic.
Bush2: Largest pay raise two years running. Rebuilding the force, but he needs to add more people, not just more pay. He's trusting his military experts. He's honorable and loyal, so trust is being restored. Let's pray for him. He might well be a GREAT president.
I remember that too. I was watching from the comfort of my home, of course. But I felt nothing but awe and admiration for Ronald Reagan and MRS. REAGAN, comforting the families and the troops. I just shook my head and told my husband that that man had the hardest job in the world and he would always have my deepest admiration for the way he and Nancy carried it out. No smirking jokes and phony tears like X42 at Ron Brown's funeral. Reagan was a real man, like GW Bush is proving to be.